There is hereby established pursuant to c. 291, P.L. 1975, in the Township of Saddle Brook a Planning Board of nine members, consisting of the following four classes:
A. 
Class I: the Mayor.
B. 
Class II: one of the officials of the municipality other than a member of the governing body, to be appointed by the Mayor, provided that if there is an Environmental Commission, the member of the Environmental Commission who is also a member of the Planning Board as required by C. 40:56A-1, also known as N.J.S.A. 40:56A-1, shall be deemed to be the Class II Planning Board member if there are both a member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment and a member of the Board of Education among the Class IV members.
C. 
Class III: a member of the governing body, to be appointed by it.
D. 
Class IV: six other citizens of the municipality to be appointed by the Mayor. The members of Class IV shall hold no other municipal office, except that one member may be a member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment and one may be a member of the Board of Education. A member of the Environmental Commission who is also a member of the Planning Board as required by N.J.S.A. 40:56A-1 shall be a Class IV Planning Board member unless there are among the Class IV members of the Planning Board both a member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment and a member of the Board of Education, in which case the member of the Environmental Commission shall be deemed to be the Class II member of the Planning Board.
A. 
The term of the member composing Class I shall correspond with his official tenure. The terms of the members composing Class II and Class III shall be for one year or terminate at the completion of their respective terms of office, whichever occurs first, except for a Class II member who is also a member of the Environmental Commission. The term of a Class II or a Class IV member who is also a member of the Environmental Commission shall be for three years or terminate at the completion of his term of office as a member of the Environmental Commission, whichever comes first.
B. 
The term of a Class IV member who is also a member of the Board of Adjustment or the Board of Education shall terminate whenever he is no longer a member of such other body or at the completion of his Class IV term, whichever occurs first.
C. 
The terms of all Class IV members first appointed pursuant to this chapter shall be so determined that to the greatest practicable extent the expiration of such terms shall be evenly distributed over the first four years after their appointment; provided, however, that no term of any member shall exceed four years, and further provided that nothing herein shall affect the terms of any present members of the Planning Board, all of whom shall continue in office until the completion of the terms for which they were appointed. Thereafter, all Class IV members shall be appointed for terms of four years, except as otherwise herein provided. All terms shall run from July 1 of the year in which the appointment was made.
If a vacancy of any class shall occur otherwise than by expiration of term, it shall be filled by appointment as above provided for the unexpired term.
[Added 1-25-1979 by Ord. No. 788; amended 9-24-1981 by Ord. No. 838]
A. 
Alternate members shall be appointed by the appointing authority for Class IV members, which is the Mayor of the Township of Saddle Brook, and shall meet the qualifications of Class IV members for appointment to the Board. Alternate members shall be designated at the time of appointment by the Mayor as "Alternate No. 1" and "Alternate No. 2." The terms of the alternate members shall be two years, except that the terms of the alternate members shall be such that the term of not more than one alternate member shall expire in any one year; provided, however, that in no instance shall the terms of the alternate members first appointed exceed two years. A vacancy occurring otherwise than by expiration of term shall be filled by the Mayor for the unexpired term only.
B. 
Alternate members may participate in discussions of the proceedings, but may not vote, except in the absence or disqualification of a regular member of any class. The vote shall not be delayed in order that a regular member may vote instead of an alternate member. In the event that a choice must be made as to which alternate member is to vote, Alternate No. 1 shall vote.
When any hearing before a Planning Board shall carry over to one or more meetings, a member of the Board who was absent for one or more of the meetings shall be eligible to vote on the matter upon which the hearing was conducted, notwithstanding his absence from one o more of the meetings; provided, however, that such Board member has available to him a transcript or recording of the meeting or meetings from which he was absent and certifies in writing to the Board that he has read such transcript or listened to such recording.
A. 
The Planning Board shall elect a Chairman and Vice Chairman from the members of Class IV and select a Secretary who may be either a member of the Planning Board or a municipal employee designated by it.
B. 
There is hereby created the office of Planning Board Attorney. The Planning Board may, on an annual basis, employ or contract for and fix the compensation of legal counsel, other than the Municipal Attorney, and experts and other staff and services as it may deem necessary, not exceeding, exclusive of gifts or grants, the amount of money appropriated by the governing body for its use with respect to these items. The amount paid from escrow to the Board Attorney, if any, shall not exceed the rate set by the governing body and shall not supplement said amount. In no event shall compensation for the Board Attorney, from any source, exceed the rate set by the governing body and shall not supplement said amount, which shall not exceed $75 per hour, unless the Council shall amend said amount at its annual reorganization meeting.
[Amended 4-21-2005 by Ord. No. 1353]
The Planning Board shall follow the provisions of P.L. 1975, c. 291, and shall accordingly exercise its power in regard to the following matters as provided by law:
A. 
The Master Plan, as provided in Article 3, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-28.
B. 
Subdivision control and site plan review, in accordance with Article 6, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-37 et seq.
C. 
The Official Map, in accordance with Article 5, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-32 et seq.
D. 
The Zoning Ordinance, including conditional uses, in accordance with Article 8, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-62 et seq.
E. 
Variances and certain building permits in conjunction with subdivision, site plan and conditional use approval, in accordance with Article 7, N.J.S.A. 40:55D-60 et seq.
F. 
Perform such other advisory duties as may be assigned to it by ordinance or resolution of the governing body and submit such written reports to the governing body as may be requested by the governing body, as provided in N.J.S.A. 40:55D-25 and 55D-26.
A. 
Minor subdivisions. "Minor subdivision" means a subdivision of land that does not involve the creation of more than three lots fronting on an existing street, plan development, any new street or road or the extension of any existing street or road, the creation or extension of any municipal facility or extension of any off-tract improvement.
(1) 
Minor subdivision approvals shall be granted or denied within 45 days of the date of submission of a complete application to the Planning Board or within such further time as may be consented to by the applicant. Failure of the Planning Board to act within the above time period or any extended time period that may be consented to shall constitute a minor subdivision approval. Approval of a minor subdivision shall expire 190 days from the date of Planning Board approval unless, within such period, a plat in conformity with such approval and the provisions of the Map Filing Law or a deed clearly describing the approved minor subdivision is filed by the developer with the county recording officer, the Municipal Engineer and the Municipal Tax Assessor. Any such plat or deed must be signed by the Chairman and the Secretary of the Planning Board before it will be accepted for filing by the county recording officer.
(2) 
Minor subdivision approval shall be deemed to be final approval of the subdivision by the Board, provided that the Board may condition such approval on terms ensuring the provisions for improvements provided in N.J.S.A. 40:55D-38, 40:55D-39 and 40:55D-53.
(3) 
The zoning requirements and general terms and conditions, whether conditional or otherwise, upon which minor subdivision approval is granted shall not be changed for a period of two years after the date of minor subdivision approval, provided that the approved minor subdivision shall have been duly recorded as provided by N.J.S.A. 40:55D-47.
(4) 
In those cases where County Planning Board approval is required, the local Planning Board shall condition its approval upon timely receipt of a favorable report on the application by the County Planning Board or approval by the County Planning Board by its failure to report thereon within the required time period.
B. 
Preliminary approval of major subdivisions. All subdivisions not classified as minor subdivisions shall be classified and considered major subdivisions and shall be subject to the provisions of c. 291, P.L. 1975, except as may be otherwise provided herein. Upon submission of a complete application for a subdivision of 10 or fewer lots, the Planning Board shall grant or deny preliminary approval within 45 days of the date of such submission or within such further time as may be consented to by the developer. Upon submission of a complete application for a subdivision of more than 10 lots, the Planning Board shall grant or deny preliminary approval within 95 days of the date of such submission or within such further time as may be consented to by the developer. Otherwise, the Planning Board shall be deemed to have granted preliminary approval for the subdivision.
C. 
Ancillary powers. Whenever the Planning Board is called upon to exercise its ancillary powers before the granting of a variance as set forth in Article I, § 118-6E of this chapter (N.J.S.A. 40:55D-60), the Planning Board shall grant or deny approval of the application within 95 days after submission by the developer of a complete application or within such further time as may be consented to by the applicant. Failure of the Planning Board to act within the period prescribed shall constitute approval of the application, and a certificate of the administrative officer as to the failure of the Planning Board to act shall be issued on request of the applicant.
D. 
Final approval.
(1) 
Application for final major subdivision approval shall be granted or denied within 45 days of submission of a complete application or within such further time as may be consented to by the applicant. Failure of the Planning Board to act within the period prescribed shall constitute final approval. In those cases where County Planning Board approval is required, the local Planning Board shall condition its approval upon timely receipt of a favorable report on the application by the County Planning Board or approval by the County Planning Board by its failure to report thereon within the required time period.
(2) 
Final approval of a major subdivision shall expire 95 days from the date of signing of the plat unless within such period the plat shall have been duly filed by the developer with the county recording officer. The Planning Board may, for good cause shown, extend the period for recording for an additional period not to exceed 190 days from the date of the signing of the plat.
[Amended 5-4-2017 by Ord. No. 1626-17]
Applications for development within the jurisdiction of the Planning Board, pursuant to the provisions of c. 291, P.L. 1975, shall be filed with the Secretary of the Planning Board. The applicant shall file, at least 14 days before the date of the monthly meeting of the Board, three copies of a sketch plat, three copies of an application for minor subdivision approval, three copies of an application for major subdivision approval or three copies of an application for site plan review, conditional use approval or planned development. At the time of filing the application, but in no event less than 10 days prior to the date set for hearing, the applicant shall also file all plot plans, maps or other papers required by virtue of any provision of this chapter or any rule of the Planning Board. The applicant shall obtain all necessary forms from the Secretary of the Planning Board. The Secretary of the Board shall inform the applicant of the steps to be taken to initiate applications and of the regular meeting dates of the Board. The Board shall have the right to charge the applicant for the cost of any additional copies of applications, maps or any other matters and materials that are required to be submitted to the Board. Applicants shall also comply with the checklist requirements as set forth in Chapter A214.
Whenever the Environmental Commission, if one has been established, has prepared and submitted to the Planning Board an index of the natural resources of the municipality, the Planning Board shall make available to the Environmental Commission an informational copy of every application for development to the Planning Board. Failure of the Planning Board to make such informational copy available to the Environmental Commission shall not invalidate any hearing or proceeding.